IIAOK Issues Special Legislative Alert on HB 2261

Dan Ramsey, executive director of the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma (IIAOK), in a recent State Capitol Report issued an alert to IIAOK members, urging them to become active in efforts to secure meaningful tort reform in Oklahoma. Ramsey specifically targeted House Bill 2261, a measure that is making its way through the state Legislature.

Following is the text of Ramsey’s letter to IIAOK members:

This is your call to action on HB2661—the lawsuit reform bill that is currently being considered by the legislature. It is absolutely imperative that every member, associate member and every employee get active on this legislation. If passed in its current state, it will absolutely destroy the insurance industry in the State of Oklahoma.

An amendment made to the bill, Section 73, must be removed. This section would require all insurance policies, except workers’ compensation, to be rolled back at least 25 percent less than the charges for the same coverage in effect on Jan. 1, 2003. Obviously such a law would cause our companies to leave the state in droves.

Your markets would disappear; you would have nothing to sell. We are in strong support of legislation to reform the legal system in Oklahoma. Lawsuit reform is sweeping the nation and Oklahoma must make needed changes that will help us attract and retain businesses.

The Senate Judiciary Committee meeting this morning was disturbing in that there was never an opportunity to amend the bill as presented or to really have a debate on the merits or shortfalls of the bill. Larry Johnson of Universal Insurance Agency in Edmond was on hand to make a presentation, but was never given an opportunity to be heard.

I would like for every member and associate member to do the following:
1. Send a copy of the following letter on your letterhead to your State Senator and State Representative.
2. Include a business card of every person in your office with the letter so that they can see the grass root support of our support of lawsuit reform.
3. Provide copies of this letter to your clients and ask them to do the same. Our message needs to be that while we strongly support reform, we cannot support the bill as currently written as it will destroy, not only the insurance industry, but also the economy of the State of Oklahoma.

Business Card Petition:

“I support STRONG lawsuit reform.
Please don’t weaken HB 2661!”
Vote to restore common sense
& personal responsibility to our courts.

Focus Issues for Grassroots Effort

Pass the reforms proposed by Governor Henry
• Limit the award of non-economic damages at $300,000, indexed to inflation, and allow the cap to be removed where there is clear and convincing evidence of “willful and wanton” conduct.
• Civil procedure reform:
a. Strengthen current Oklahoma law allowing parties to a civil action to have a right to an immediate appeal of any order certifying a class or refusing to certify a class; provide for a stay on all proceedings during appeal of class certification.
b. Require that if any portion of the benefits recovered from the class are in the form of coupons or other non-cash common benefits, the attorneys fees awarded in the action must be in cash and non-cash amounts in the same proportion as the recovery for the class.
c. Require that all administrative relief be pursued and exhausted before the court may certify a class action.
d. Strengthen the forum non-convenience doctrine by providing that the court decline jurisdiction if there is a better forum for the suit.
e. Assess cost for abusive discovery practices in all civil actions.
• Eliminate prejudgment interest on future damages and limit prejudgment interest to the Wall Street prime interest rate with a floor of 5 percent and a cap of 15 percent.
• Tighten up our current limitation on punitive damages to require the current judicial determination as set out in statute and that there be unanimous agreement by a twelve-member jury.
• A plaintiff cannot unilaterally dismiss any civil case unless the plaintiff dismisses the case before receiving an answer or a motion for summary judgment from the defendant.
• Tighten up our “junk science” laws to match the federal requirements.
• Reduce frivolous lawsuits by mandating sanctions patterned after the Federal Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
• Protect manufacturers of products that fully comply with federal requirements with regard to product standards and warnings.
• Establish a ten-year “statute of repose” on product liability actions from the date of sale.
• Provide for volunteer and teacher liability protection.
• Limit asbestos-related liabilities.
• Adopt specific medical liability reform that includes the following:
a. Eliminate prejudgment interest on medical cases.
b. Require that any medical liability actions be brought only in the county where the cause of action arose.
c. Address medical liability actions, collateral sources and filing of a “formal, asserted claim of subrogation”.
d. Limit plaintiffs’ ability to dismiss after substantial defense costs have incurred by adopting dismissal rules similar to the Federal rules that prohibit a plaintiff from unilaterally dismissing an action after the defendant answers.
e. Allow health care providers to express sympathy about unanticipated, negative outcomes without it being used against them in litigation.
f. Provide health care workers who provide services or facilities with immunity form liability if they provide the services or facilities without any expectation of compensation.

Pass procedural reforms that bring common sense back to our courts
• Cap attorney fees on a sliding scale with a cap of 20 percent but allow the judge or jury to determine that the attorney earned a higher fee.
• Allow “collateral source” evidence to be introduced.
• Reform the award of attorney fees in class actions not to exceed $500 per hour (this figure is not in the governor’s proposal but he does propose limiting attorney fees in class action lawsuits).
• Cap appeals bonds so they don’t exceed the lesser of 10 percent (governor’s proposal is 50 percent) of the net worth of the judgment debtor or $25,000,000, and allow the court to set a lower appeal bond if the judgment debtor is likely to suffer substantial economic harm.

Pass reforms to make individuals responsible for their actions
• Limit joint and several liability so that a defendant shall be liable only for his/her proportionate share of fault (governor’s proposal is to limit joint liability where the defendant is not at least 50 percent at fault).
• Protect innocent property and homeowners from liability in cases of unauthorized entry, and from liability for the injury resulting from the criminal actions of others (originally proposed by governor).
• Expand protection against liability for property owners who open their lands to the public for recreational purposes.

Topics Lawsuits Agencies Oklahoma